A place to share cool science ideas for storytime!

Posts tagged ‘science’

Pearl and her trusty rust-proof robot, Pascal, need to build a sandcastle before summer vacation is over, and they’re going to do it using code.

Robot in Love by T. L. McBeth

A shy robot
falls in love and works up the courage to speak to its crush.

Love, Z by Jessie Sima

A little
robot named Z finds a message in a bottle signed, “Love, Beatrice”
and, unable to learn what love is from other robots, sets out on a quest to
find the answer.

Little Robot Alone by Patricia MacLachlan

When Little
Robot finds a creative solution to his loneliness he gets straight to work on
shaping the perfect companion out of metal, and affectionately names him Little
Dog.

Brobot Bedtime by Supdipta Bardhan-Quallen,

Bedtime
for young robots means recharging and entering sleep
mode, but when Beep has trouble powering down, can his brothers help?

Bitty Bot by
Tim McCanna

All
of the bots in Botsburg are powering down for the night … but Bitty Bot isn’t
tired! Bitty decides to build a rocket and go on a space adventure instead of
going to sleep.

Spare Parts
by Rebecca Emberley

While
searching for a replacement heart at the Spare Parts Mart, a lonely robot finds
a friend.

Tin by Chris
Judge

A metal boy named Tin is looking after his little sister Nickel one afternoon when she grabs hold of a balloon and floats away. Tin and his dog Zinc set off in hot pursuit as she floats towards the big city. Can they rescue Nickel before she goes too far?

Cookiebot! : a Harry and Horsie Adventure by Katie VanCamp

When
Harry and his best friend Horsie build a robot that can reach the cookie jar
for them, it goes out of control and wreaks havoc around the city.

Nonfiction:

Robots by
Cody Crane

Learn
all about robots, from how they are designed and
built to which exciting new kinds of robots you
might see in the future.

Robots by
Nathan Lepora

Explores how robots function and are made, looking at their computing components and how engineers design them with specific capabilities.

Follow a pair of robin parents from nest-building and egg-laying, to raising their hungry hatchlings, and finally sending off their flying fledglings.

Wings by Cheryl B.Klein

Follows a baby bird on its first flight, one that starts
cautiously and ends with delight.

Bird Watch by Christie Matheson

Count backward from ten as you search for hidden birds (and insects and animals) in this seek-and-find picture book.

Not your nest! by Gideon Sterer

Bird builds the perfect nest, the only problem is everyone else wants to sleep in it!

This is the Nest that Robin Built:
with a little help from her friends by Denise Fleming

A cumulative rhyme about the animals
who help Robin build her nest.

Crow not Crow by Jane Yolen

Tells the story of a child’s first birding expedition on a golden autumn day.

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Trevor by Jim Averbeck

Trevor is lonely and looking for a friend. He stretches his wings the length of his boring cage and notices the tree outside stretching its branch. And on the end of that branch? Perhaps a new friend. But one that is quiet and shy. Trevor knows just how to make him feel comfortable. This is an elegantly told, truly unique tale of a canary who befriends a lemon and finds that you don’t have to be two of a kind to form a meaningful and lasting friendship.

Egg by Kevin
Henkes

Three little birds crack their way out of eggs and fly away, leaving one egg sitting all alone until the three chicks come back and discover a friendly baby alligator has finally hatched.

North, South, East, West by Margaret Wise Brown

Follows the journey of a little bird who flies to the north, south, east, and west to decide which direction she likes best.

Zelda, determined to be the first chicken in space, carries on with her plans to build a spaceship, complete her training, and design experiments, even if her friends do not want to help.

Tiny Little Rocket by Richard Collingridge

5 4 3 2 1… BLAST OFF! There’s a tiny little rocket that
will take you to the stars, It only flies there once a year, but zips you out
past Mars… Jump in for a journey that is out of this world!

Bitty Bot by Tim McCanna, illustrated by Tad Carpenter

All of the bots in Botsburg are powering down for the night
… but Bitty Bot isn’t tired! Bitty decides to build a rocket and go on a
space adventure instead of going to sleep.

Mabel and Sam at Home by Linda Urban, illustrated by Hadley Hooper

Mabel and her younger brother Sam approach their new home and the trauma of moving by turning it into an adventure, imagining they are sailors approaching a new land, tour guides exploring a museum, and finally astronauts in space.

Nuts in Space by Elys Dolan

An elite crew has finally found the Lost Nuts of Legend. But will they get home before something happens
to the nuts?

Where is the Rocket? By Harriet Ziefert

Illustrations and spare text take the reader on a journey in
perspective that follows a rocket’s travels from a child’s bedroom to outer
space and home again, emphasizing such concepts as near and far, above and
below, middle, front, and back.

The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield

Young Chris loves pretending he’s a brave astronaut, exploring
the universe. Only one problem–at night, he’s
afraid of the dark. Only
when he watches the moon landing on TV does he
realize how exciting the unknown can be. Inspired by
the childhood of real-life astronaut Chris Hadfield.

Earth Space Moon Base by Ben Joel Price

An unlikely trio lands on a planet and keeps the inhabitants at bay using bananas.

Regards to the Man in the Moon by Ezra Jack Keats

With the help of his imagination, his
parents, and a few scraps of junk, Louie and his friends build a
spaceship and travel through outer space.

Nonfiction books

If you
Decide to Go to the
Moon by Faith McNulty

The text allows the reader to participate in every aspect of
the journey, from packing (“don’t forget your diary and plenty of
food”) to liftoff (at first you’ll feel heavy; don’t worry”) to
traveling through space (where “the moon glows like a pearl in the black,
black sky”). The reader lands at the Sea of Tranquility, the site of the
first lunar landing.

The SpaceAdventurer’s Guide : your passport to the coolest things to see and do in the universe by Peter McMahon

A guide to space
travel describes how to prepare and the different trips a person could make,
the steps that each trip would involve, and some things to do at each
destination.

Astronaut Handbook by Meghan McCarthy

Meghan McCarthy blasts readers off to astronaut school in her new, young, nonfiction picture book. Take a ride on the “Vomit Comet” and learn how it feels to be weightless. Have your measurements taken–100 to be exact–for your very own space suit.

50 Things You
Should Know about Space by Raman K. Prinja

From constellations to space shuttles, Space is as endlessly fascinating as the universe itself. Discover everything you ever wanted to know about space missions colliding galaxies, light years, solar eclipses, the surface of the Sun and much, much more in this exciting title.

Snow falls, animals hibernate, and people bundle up, it’s winter! Check out all the changes that come with longer nights and colder temperatures.

Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner

Over the snow, the world is hushed and white, but under the snow is a secret world of squirrels and snowshoe hares, bears and bullfrogs, and many others who live outside in the woods during the winter.

Winter Dance by Marion Dane Bauer

A fox wonders how he should prepare for the coming winter, but what other animals advise will not work for him until another fox comes to his aid.

Copy Me, Copycub by Richard Edwards

Copycub, who imitates everything that his mother bear does, follows her to their den when winter comes and snow begins to fall.

William’s Winter Nap by Linda Ashman

Just when William is ready to fall asleep in his cozy cabin, there is a tap on his window. A chilly chipmunk asks to stay, and Will scooches over in bed. “There’s room for two–I’m sure we’ll fit.” The chipmunk is just the first in a parade of mammals, each bigger than the last, until the bed is full.

Here Comes Jack Frost by Kazuno Kohara

One cold morning, a lonely boy wishes for something to do. Then someone comes to play who knows what winter is all about.

Baby Bear Counts One by Ashley Wolff

Before curling up with his mother in their cozy den, Baby Bear counts other animals preparing for winter.

Explanations of wind including activities within the book to help children engage with the concepts.

The Wind by Monique Felix

Fun wordless book about a mouse who sees flying things in the sky. He builds a pinwheel out of the paper in the book so he can fly as well.

Willa and the Wind retold by Janice M. Del Negro and illustrated by Heather Solomon.

This is an original story based on a Norwegian Folktale. A beautifully illustrated picture book about a girl who goes to visit the Wind and gets priceless gifts each time she visits.

The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins

The wind blew, and blew, and blew It blew so hard, it took everything with it: Mr. White’s umbrella, Priscilla’s balloon, the twins’ scarves, even the wig on the judge’s head. But just when the wind was about to carry everything out to sea, it changed its mind.

Splish, Splash, Ducky! By Lucy Cousins

Quack, quack, quack! Ducky Duckling loves playing outside in the rain. He hops with frog, squirms with wriggly worm and splashes with the fishes.

Cloudette by Tom Lichtenheld

Cloudette is a little cloud who is looking to do something big. She discovers new friends, new adventures, and her own silver lining.

How does it work? This book explores frequencies, pitch, and volume including how sound travels, the anatomy of an ear, and what makes an echo. Readers are encouraged to follow the examples and engage in scientific exploration.

Investigates the different sounds of a vibrating ruler, producing sound with a blade of grass, and a variety of experiments with straws.

Sounds All Around by Wendy Pfeffer, illustrated by Holly Keller.

Easy to understand nonfiction book that preschoolers will enjoy. Sound activities included at the end of the book such as making a guitar out of tissue box and rubber bands, musical glasses and the sounds matching game.

Big Book of Building by Marne Ventura includes instructions for a Groovy Guitar made with cardboard, rubber bands and other recycled items. The book also gives instructions on how to make Hot Beats Bongo Drums from oatmeal containers and duct tape.

The Science of Sound: Projects and Experiments with Music and Sound Waves by Steve Parker

Includes these topics: What is sound? — Sounds underwater — Quiet…or…LOUD! — High or low — Hearing sounds — Where’s that sound? — Speed of sound — Bouncing sound — Making sounds — Soaking up sound — Sound along a line — Recorded sound — Sound history.

Light, sound, and waves science fair projects : using sunglasses, guitars, CDs, and other stuff by Robert Gardner

Why can dogs hear sounds that humans cannot? Why does a flame give off light? How does a mirror work? In this book of experiments, readers learn how to explore the world of light and sound, with additional ideas for science fair projects.

Sound and light by Jack Challoner

White light and color, recording sound and light, and the light-bending properties of mirrors, prisms, and lenses are all explored in 40 hands-on, fascinating experiments.

Learn all about bugs in this nonfiction children’s book with detailed colorful photographs. Topics covered include: what is a bug, bug bodies, senses, on the move, bugs and plants, hunting for food, in disguise, finding a mate, baby bugs, living together, in the ground, underwater, true bugs, beetles, butterflies and moths, flies, ants, bees and wasps, spiders, bad bugs, helpful bugs, amazing facts, using the internet and index. It also has descriptions of Web sites specially chosen to take you further into the subject in a fun and informative way. You can find links to the sites on the Usborne Quicklinks Web site at https://www.usborne.com/quicklinks

Bugs and Bugsicles by Amy S. Hansen, illustrated by Robert C. Cray

Where do bugs go in the winter? Some die, laying eggs to hatch in the spring. Others do different things, like ladybugs that huddle together for warmth, monarch butterflies that migrate all the way to Mexico, and woolly bear caterpillars who actually freeze and spend the winter as bugsicles.

Insects do amazing things with this part of their anatomy. Discover the different ways insects use their butts to avoid predators. Spittlebugs blow bubbles from their butts and hide under them, while some caterpillars shoot their poop far from their bodies to throw poop-searching wasps off their trail. Ants and beetles spray acid from their butts into the faces of predators, while some caterpillars and larvae build hide-outs with their poop to keep predators away.

Bug Zoo by Nick Baker

This nonfiction is a great book to use as a resource capturing, keeping and caring for insects found in your backyard.